The Next Industrial Revolution?
Has 3D Printing and mass customisation become the next big thing in manufacturing and the Creative Industries?
Additive Manufacturing sounds like a process where the product is supplemented by E numbers. Additive Manufacturing is nothing about making hyper active products that go on the naughty step. Additive Manufacturing or 3D Manufacturing is the next major step in manufacturing processes.
China is the World's second largest economy and the rate of development shows no significant sign of abating. China has been caricatured as the place where designs and innovation are copied and that Intellectual Rights holders are at risk of being abused and exploited.
According to the latest World Intellectual Property (WIPO) data China saw a 33.4% growth in International Patents Applications, placing it into fourth place in the rankings behind USA, Japan and Germany in terms of applications. The United Kingdom is in seventh place, and its number of patent applications fell by 1%. The Company with the most application is China's ZTE Corporation overtaking Japan's Panasonic. ZTE is a global telecommunications company. However, not one registered United Kingdom company appears in the top 100 list of patent registration applicants.
Mark Adams: The Man Behind Opel's Award Winning Ampera.
Recently, General Motors European Division, Opel, won the coveted European Car of the Year for its ground breaking Opel Ampera (marketed in the United Kingdom as Vauxhall). BluePencil caught up with Mark Adams GM Europe Vice President of Design to discuss the philosophy behind the Ampera and the effect of modern day regulation on the look and efficiency of the cars the public drive.
US President Obama too a major step in modifying US Patent Law when on 16 September 2011 he signed off on the America Invents Act, and confusingly also known as Patents Reform Act 2011, thus taking steps to harmonise with European patent law.
Previously US patent law was quite distinct from its European counterpart but the changes particularly in respect of defining whether an invention is deemed novel enough to merit patent status.
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